Qualifications Commission

Orange County Judge Dan Perry's first three months in traffic court have yielded some resentful offenders.One is Emma Russell, who spent 26 days in jail mainly because Perry charged her with contempt of court - a charge the judge later admitted was a mistake and dropped.Then there's Army Sgt. Michael Facella, whom Perry berated for wearing his dress uniform to court. Perry accused Facella of trying to influence him ''with little flags waving in the background.''Those cases and several others led Orlando lawyers Irl Marcus and Herb Hall to begin an unprecedented campaign to convince Florida's Judicial Qualifications Commission that Perry is rude and flouts the law.Perry in turn accused the lawyers of filing trumped-up complaints because he has a reputation of being tough.

For the second time in 2 1/2 years, a state agency that polices judges has agreed to look into allegations that Seminole County Judge Ralph Eriksson improperly sent someone to jail. This time, the Judicial Qualifications Commission will review whether Eriksson wrongly jailed an unemployed Sanford man for contempt of court because he had failed to pay $500 in court costs. Nathaniel Seaborn Brogden, 42, is one of at least 20 people Eriksson jailed in the past five months for unpaid court costs.

When judges show by their demeanor or behavior that they are unfit for the public's trust, it is incumbent on the judicial system to remove such judges or apply other appropriate discipline.In Florida, complaints about judges are investigated by the Judicial Qualifications Commission, which recommends appropriate reprimands. Florida's highest court then decides if a judge is fit to remain on the bench or whether some other discipline is appropriate.Voters will have a chance to strengthen the current disciplinary system.

SANFORD -- For a time, it appeared Seminole County Judge John Sloop would safely keep his job. Now, that's up in the air. The Florida Supreme Court has ordered him to appear in Tallahassee Nov. 3 to explain why he shouldn't be removed from office. Sloop, 57, is being disciplined because two years ago he ordered 11 people to jail for going to the wrong courtroom by mistake. A state panel that polices judges had a two-day hearing in March in Sanford, during which Sloop admitted he'd made a mistake and apologized.

TALLAHASSEE -- With an Orlando judge as the focus, the Florida Supreme Court on Friday debated how far state judges can go in gathering information when they are off the bench. Orange Circuit Judge Joe Baker says he was merely searching for "the truth'' when he consulted experts, including his son-in-law, to analyze an issue during a computer software trial involving a Disney vacation club company two years ago. But an attorney for a Florida judicial disciplinary commission told the justices Friday that Baker violated state ethics rules and such actions raise fundamental doubts about whether court rulings are fair and unbiased.

Whether Orange County Judge Alan C. Todd is innocent or guilty of charges that he "continuously engaged in a pattern of rude, intemperate and demeaning comments" to court workers ultimately will be decided by the Florida Supreme Court. In the interim, however, Mr. Todd has no business sitting on the bench. Judges, of course, are supposed to be impartial arbiters of the evidence.Yet charges filed against Mr. Todd by the state Judicial Qualifications Commission detail a deeply disturbing pattern of discrimination and personal bias that, if true, would warrant Mr. Todd's immediate removal from office.

For the past eight months, Orange Circuit Judge James Henson hasn't heard a case, issued a ruling or made any of the judicial decisions voters elected him to execute nearly three years ago. Yet while Henson has been on a leave of absence since February, waiting to see whether the Florida Supreme Court will kick him off the bench, he has collected his salary. By the end of the month, he will have made $84,966 for staying home, according to court administration records. Henson even received a judicial raise that kicked in earlier this summer, boosting his monthly income from $11,221 to $11,625.

SANFORD -- For a time, it appeared Seminole County Judge John Sloop would safely keep his job. Now, that's up in the air. The Florida Supreme Court has ordered him to appear in Tallahassee Nov. 3 to explain why he shouldn't be removed from office. Sloop, 57, is being disciplined because two years ago he ordered 11 people to jail for going to the wrong courtroom by mistake. A state panel that polices judges had a two-day hearing in March in Sanford, during which Sloop admitted he'd made a mistake and apologized.

SHAME ON you, Bill Bond.Your recent column on Marion County Circuit Judge Wallace Sturgis, which centered on his public reprimand from the Florida Supreme Court, was not up to your usual professional standards.If you had attended the weeklong public hearing conducted by the state Judicial Qualifications Commission investigating allegations of misconduct by the judge, or interviewed the numerous witnesses as I did, you would know that your remarks about Judge Sturgis were totally unjustified.

Former County Attorney Chris Ford has submitted an application for a vacant position on the 5th District Court of Appeal in Daytona Beach.Ford, 52, spent 17 years as Lake County's attorney before being dismissed last year, shortly after a new County Commission majority won election in fall 1988.The DCA position was held by C. Welborn Daniel, the former Lake County circuit judge who retired last month.A nine-member Judicial Qualifications Commission will take applications, conduct interviews and then forward three names to Gov. Bob Martinez, who will select Daniel's replacement.

SANFORD -- The attorney prosecuting Seminole County Judge John Sloop said Thursday that the investigative panel bringing charges against him wants the judge kicked off the bench. Sloop, 57, is accused of being an unfit judge for ordering 11 people arrested because they went to the wrong courtroom by mistake. They were in the one next door, either because of faulty paperwork or bum directions by courthouse personnel. Prosecutor Lauri Waldman Ross last week reached a tentative plea deal with Sloop that would have allowed him to keep his job. But the panel to which she reports -- the investigative arm of the Judicial Qualifications Commission -- rejected it. The commission polices Florida judges.

SANFORD -- The Seminole County judge who ordered 11 people locked up only because they went to the wrong courtroom agreed Wednesday to plead guilty to wrongdoing and to be punished. Officials would not disclose what that punishment would be. In a sworn statement in September, Judge John Sloop indicated he would accept a one- to two-month suspension. Prosecutor Lauri Waldman Ross stopped just short of saying that's what the plea deal calls for. "I think that's a pretty good assumption," she said, "but I can't confirm it."

The state Supreme Court ended the long-tarnished career of Orange Circuit Judge James E. Henson on Wednesday, adding his name to a short list of judges whose ethical transgressions got them booted from the bench. The seven justices say Henson practiced law while still a judge and told a client facing two DUI-manslaughter charges that she should flee the country to avoid prosecution. "Having compromised his own integrity, Judge Henson would place the integrity of our judicial system at stake were he allowed to continue in office," the Supreme Court justices noted in a unanimous, 28-page decision.

For the past eight months, Orange Circuit Judge James Henson hasn't heard a case, issued a ruling or made any of the judicial decisions voters elected him to execute nearly three years ago. Yet while Henson has been on a leave of absence since February, waiting to see whether the Florida Supreme Court will kick him off the bench, he has collected his salary. By the end of the month, he will have made $84,966 for staying home, according to court administration records. Henson even received a judicial raise that kicked in earlier this summer, boosting his monthly income from $11,221 to $11,625.

Whether Orange County Judge Alan C. Todd is innocent or guilty of charges that he "continuously engaged in a pattern of rude, intemperate and demeaning comments" to court workers ultimately will be decided by the Florida Supreme Court. In the interim, however, Mr. Todd has no business sitting on the bench. Judges, of course, are supposed to be impartial arbiters of the evidence.Yet charges filed against Mr. Todd by the state Judicial Qualifications Commission detail a deeply disturbing pattern of discrimination and personal bias that, if true, would warrant Mr. Todd's immediate removal from office.

TALLAHASSEE -- With an Orlando judge as the focus, the Florida Supreme Court on Friday debated how far state judges can go in gathering information when they are off the bench. Orange Circuit Judge Joe Baker says he was merely searching for "the truth'' when he consulted experts, including his son-in-law, to analyze an issue during a computer software trial involving a Disney vacation club company two years ago. But an attorney for a Florida judicial disciplinary commission told the justices Friday that Baker violated state ethics rules and such actions raise fundamental doubts about whether court rulings are fair and unbiased.

The Florida Supreme Court Thursday reprimanded Marion Circuit Judge Wallace Sturgis for 14 counts of misconduct on the bench, including mishandling an estate and twice brandishing a handgun during hearings.One justice dissented, saying that Sturgis' violations of rules that govern judicial conduct should result in the same action taken in April against a Fort Lauderdale judge, who was dismissed from the bench.The court majority said Sturgis should be given leniency because he admitted the allegations were true and agreed with the findings of the Judicial Qualifications Commission that recommended Thursday's reprimand.

Orange Circuit Judge Linda Gloeckner was reprimanded Thursday by Florida's Supreme Court for her arrest earlier this year on a drunken-driving charge.The Florida Judicial Qualifications Commission recommended the reprimand after finding that Gloeckner had violated the state's code for judicial conduct.''Needless to say this incident has given me great cause for reflection, and as a result, I really feel I will be a better person and judge,'' Gloeckner said of the public reprimand.Gloeckner, 44, who continues to hear divorce and adoption cases in Orange County, faces trial in Seminole County on charges of misdemeanor driving while under the influence.

By Gary Taylor and Robert Perez of The Sentinel Staff, October 16, 1999

SANFORD - A Seminole County circuit judge who was reprimanded last year by the Florida Supreme Court now is charged with battery stemming from a July dispute with his wife.Volusia County State Attorney John Tanner charged Judge Leonard Wood on Friday with one count of battery, a first-degree misdemeanor that carries a maximum sentence of one year in jail and a $1,000 fine.At the request of Seminole-Brevard State Attorney Norman Wolfinger, Tanner's office was appointed by Gov. Jeb Bush to investigate the case against Wood.

SANFORD - Deputies questioned Seminole Circuit Judge Leonard Wood on Wednesday night after his wife was treated at the hospital for scrapes and a cut on her face.Investigators responded to a call about 9 p.m. from an employee at Central Florida Regional Hospital in Sanford. They interviewed Wood's 52-year-old wife, Julie, and took photographs of her injuries.Julie Wood told investigators that the couple had argued about money earlier in the evening. She said her husband swung a folded newspaper at her face but did not injure her. They argued some more, she said, and then he grabbed her jaws ``with his hand and proceeded to squeeze her face,'' according to a sheriff's report.